A Melbourne woman says panicked passengers were left screaming and crying when a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong suddenly lost altitude and began to shake violently.

Flight QF29 was around 110km south-east of Hong Kong last Friday when the Boeing 747 began to shudder and dropped without warning.

Passengers heard bags rattling around in the overhead lockers, and some who were standing up at the time reportedly hit their heads on the plane's roof.

Teacher Jemma Gendall was on board and said her family are still traumatised.

"It shuddered and sort of stalled, then it dropped," Ms Gendall told 9news.com.au.

"In seconds, the plane dropped again for a lot longer and it was so scary.

"People started screaming."

The force of the drop caused Ms Gendall to suffer motion sickness.

"It was so terrifying – something we’d never experienced before," Ms Gendall said.

Passengers were initially told a smoke alarm had gone off and crew were investigating, before the plane’s captain announced another aircraft flying overhead had become too close and caused the "altitude drop".

"When it dropped, it felt like we wouldn’t stop and it would crash," Ms Gendall said.

"They tried to keep reassuring us but it just made us panic more."

It is believed the aircraft’s "stick-shaker" device kicked in, causing the control stick to vibrate noisily to warn the pilot of an imminent stall.

The device takes a physical, rather than visual, form so the crew will be alerted even if they are not looking at the panel.

The mechanism comes into play if the pilot should take control during auto-pilot.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau classified the Boeing 747's incident as serious and said a report would be released "within several months" after it interviewed the flight crew.

Qantas sent an email to passengers, including Ms Gendall, to explain the “unanticipated clear air turbulence”.

"The safety of our people and our customers is always our first priority however, I recognise the impact this may have had on your journey and appreciate your understanding," Qantas manager of customer care Don Wilson wrote.

Fifteen passengers had to be treated for minor injuries after the Boeing 747 eventually landed in Hong Kong.

QF29 had earlier been delayed by 90 minutes at Melbourne Airport, which passengers were told was due to a faulty toilet seat.

"I'm just scared to board a plane again. If there's any maintenance issues on our return flight, we won’t be boarding," Ms Gendall said.

Share This Post